6.2: Photosynthetic Pigments
- Page ID
- 24766
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Extract and Separate the Pigments
- Lay a strip of filter paper on the bench.
- About 2 cm from the bottom of the strip, place a fresh spinach leaf and rub a coin across the leaf to transfer pigment to the strip.
- The instructor will be provided with a spoonful of Spirulina powder that has been soaked in 10ml acetone overnight.
- On a separate strip, the instructor will apply the Spirulina extract approximately 2cm from the bottom of the strip.
- Suspend the strips by a dowel or paper clip in a tube with about 3ml chromatography solution (2 isooctane: 1 acetone: 1 diethyl ether).
- Develop the strips until the solvent reaches about 2 cm from the top.
Chromatography Analysis
- How many different pigments separate from the spinach extract? From the spirulina?
- Are all pigments represented between the two extracts?
- The mobile phase is non-polar. What are the properties of each pigment?
- Measure the Rf of each pigment.
